Originally Posted by Bowtime

Hello all!

I am living in the UK (Since I was born), but a couple of months ago I started a relationship with someone who lives in Belgium.

We have been exploring options on who should go where really and there are both benefits and drawbacks for either choice.

I was really just looking for some help on what stuff I would need to do if I was to move to Belgium. She already has a house so I would not need to buy/rent a home if I moved and more, contribute to costs as you could say.

Qualification wise, I have a level 3 BTEC diploma from a UK College (For everyone else, the education establishment you go to before university/college) in Computing, and I currently work as a IT technician for an English school.

I know about 3 words in Dutch. So I would need to learn that somewhere hopefully

So based on that, what do you reckon my odds would be on finding a job / learning dutch as a foreign language (in antwerp) & is there much of an british expat community around antwerp?


Sorry for the long post. As I hope you will understand, i want to get some information before making the leap of faith

Thanks!

Originally Posted by SanDiegogirl

The odds on you finding a decent job without a word of Dutch in the IT field is minimal.

Why would an employer take you on when he has hundreds of native speakers to chose from?

As you said "its hard to get a job in IT without a degree" - how much harder is it going to be without being able to speak the language?

Originally Posted by Bowtime

The implied term of me moving to belgium would be to learn dutch so I can actually speak the language. As Ive been told (and seen on my previous visits) people can speek good english for a country that isnt the UK.

And I would have an advantage over others that are new into the IT field as I have experience now. Or not, I could be an electrician. that sounds fun & pays sort of well

Originally Posted by dmu

Yes, they probably do speak English, but employers aren't going to consider your applications for jobs when they've got tri-lingual candidates to choose from.
I've no idea about Belgian electricity, but French electrical standards are different from the UK and UK electricians wishing to work in France have to pass an exam (in French) to prove that they have mastered French methods.
Hope all this is giving you food for thought...

Originally Posted by Bowtime

No, not really. It doesn't help at all.

Originally Posted by dmu

Sorry, just being realistic.
As proposed, wait until you've finished your apprenticeship, meanwhile learn Dutch, and hop over to Antwerp to visit whenever you can.
Or, as hinted in your first post, explore the possibility of your Belgian friend coming to live in the UK....